


you're the only thing I know like the back of my hand

by stydiasforever



Series: Season 5A One-Shots [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Hospitals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-09 15:59:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5546324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stydiasforever/pseuds/stydiasforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing in the world can keep Stiles away from Lydia. Not even a strict hospital policy that prohibits non-family visitors in the ICU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you're the only thing I know like the back of my hand

**Author's Note:**

> hopefully this one's a little bit more in-depth than the last one! I mean, we were four chapters deep with no cuddling yet, which is probably a record for me.  
> \---  
> (title from breathe - taylor swift.)

It was nearly four o'clock in the morning when Lydia got out of surgery. Upon hearing that she would be okay, Scott and Kira had gone home to get some rest. Malia had left soon after when Stiles called her father to come pick her up. Lydia's mom stayed the entire time Lydia was in surgery, and went home after she saw her daughter. Eventually, Stiles was the only one left in the almost empty waiting room.  
  
Of course, he had tried to get in to see her the moment she was completely stable and tucked into an ICU bed for the night, but her doctor had turned him away as he wasn't family. Being himself, he had tried to sneak back in less than five minutes later only to be stopped by a rather aggressive nurse.  
  
Around six o'clock in the morning, he had finally started to doze off in an armchair in the waiting room. He knew he would miss first period (and likely second and third too) but he really needed to sleep and there was no way in hell he was leaving until he saw her. It couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes before Melissa McCall walked into the waiting room to track down a patient in need of an endoscopy and found her son's best friend sprawled out on an uncomfortable wooden chair.  
  
"Stiles?" she called out, approaching him. "Stiles, sweetie, wake up."  
  
She shook his shoulders until he eventually came to life, flailing and nearly falling off the chair.  
  
"What's wrong? Is Lydia okay?" Stiles asked worriedly, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"She's fine, she actually just woke- _why_ are you still here?" she exclaimed. "It's nearly seven, you should be at home getting ready for school!"  
  
Stiles sighed, running a hand through his hair. He knew he had a math test at ten and he had a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Greenfield would be less than understanding if he told him he was absent because his friend got shanked by a giant lizard tail.  
  
"I know. I was just hoping to see her before class," he explained, staring at his sneakers. "I know it's dumb, I just need to see with my own eyes that she's really okay."  
  
Melissa opened her mouth as if she was about to argue, then let out a soft exhale of breath and put her hands on her hips. Stiles knew that look - his own mother would do the exact same thing right before saying "yes, you can have the cookie" or "okay, one more show before bed." He was eight when she died, so most of his memories of Claudia in this stance involved negotiating more dessert or staying up later. Even then, Stiles had been good at getting what he wanted.  
  
"Fine," Melissa said, grabbing Stiles' arm and yanking him behind her. "But only because she asked for you."  
  
Stiles tried not to think too much about that, but his cheeks still turned a pale shade of pink and he felt the butterflies in his stomach come to life. He damned Lydia for still having this effect on him.  
  
Melissa used her key card to get them into the ICU, opening the very first door on the right so that Stiles could enter. He gave her an appreciative nod before walking through the doorway, shutting it behind him. As soon as he saw the bed, his eyes focused on the sleeping figure under the silky white covers. All he really saw was a mess of tangled red hair at first, but he walked around the bed so he could see her face. Her cheeks were full of colour, in complete contrast to the ghostly, pale skin he had seen hours earlier as she laid on the floor. The only red to be seen was the rich auburn pigment of her hair; much more beautiful than the deep crimson that had covered most of her body and the floor around her.  
  
He would've been perfectly content with this. He got to see her, she had proven her vitality to him. He no longer felt like she was being crushed by the weight of the world. He could _breathe._  
  
Stiles was just about to turn around and go, but he was met with sparkling emerald green eyes and a 500-watt smile that could only come from Lydia Martin. There had been a moment - a moment much too long - where he wasn't sure he would ever see that smile again.  
  
"Stiles," she said, her voice hoarse. "You came."  
  
"As if a few mean nurses and a dumb hospital policy were going to keep me away," Stiles said. He smiled as her grin widened.  
  
She patted the empty space on her bed, and Stiles obliged and sat down right next to her, his hand automatically finding hers. She reciprocated the gesture and wrapped her hand around his, closing her eyes for a second.  
  
"How are you feeling?" he asked bluntly, his eyes wandering to her side. He couldn't see the wound underneath the blue hospital gown and bandages, but he was guessing it still hurt like a bitch.  
  
"Honestly, not so thrilled that the morphine's starting to wear off," Lydia quipped. "But I've been worse."  
  
He took a deep breath. "You scared me."  
  
Lydia nodded, fidgeting with the hem of her hospital gown with the hand that wasn't holding his.  
  
"I know."  
  
There was a pause. Stiles wanted to say so much more ( _I should've been there. I'm sorry. I love you._ ) but all that left his mouth was silence. He knew better than to overstep his boundaries, even in situations like this.  
  
"I wanted to fight back," she admitted. "That was all I kept thinking as I laid on the floor; I wished I could've defended myself."  
  
"So we'll learn," Stiles said without hesitation. "I mean, we all know I'm practically a ninja, so the combat will be no problem for me-" Lydia let out a soft chuckle "-but if what you want is to protect yourself, then we'll learn. Together."  
  
"Really?" Lydia asked, her eyes shining bright.  
  
Stiles nodded, his smile warm and genuine. "Really."  
  
Lydia carefully pushed herself up so that she could wrap her arms around his waist, her cheek pressed against his chest firmly. She winced a little as he hugged her back, and he quickly loosened his grip to ease the pressure on her wound. He rocked them ever so slightly back and forth, and even pressed a very brief and very soft kiss to her temple.  
  
She broke the hug two minutes later, and he felt much colder with the sudden loss of warmth he got from holding her in his arms. He slowly stood, not wanting to leave but knowing that he had to sooner or later.  
  
"Can you stay a few more minutes?" she asked, and there was a hint of pleading in her tone.  
  
"I would, but I have a math test in third period and I was hoping to study for it during first and second-"  
  
"Stay and I'll quiz you," Lydia offered. "C'mon, you're really warm and this hospital is freezing. Please?"  
  
Stiles not so reluctantly sat back down on the bed with her, his back against the headboard, and extended his arm so she could curl up into his chest.  
  
She let out a sigh of contentment. "Okay, what's the test on?"  
  
They spent the next hour discussing trigonometric functions, and honestly, Stiles couldn't have thought of a better way to spend his morning. 


End file.
